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Angel: Power Play

Lorne: "It's like Angel suddenly started channeling Leona Helmsley."

Sacrificing Fred... schmoozing with Marcus Hamilton... agreeing to Senator Bruckner's evil plan... the Fell and the baby sacrifice... even with all that, I knew immediately that Angel hadn't gone evil when he sent Nina and her family away instead of eating her. Dan figured it out even sooner than that.

Of course Angel is after the Senior Partners, and their organization here on earth. It's just what our hero would do. The final scene where Wesley, Spike, Lorne, and Gunn confronted him, found out what Angel was up to, and each was willing to die for the cause – marvelous. I love these characters. I don't want this series to end in the worst, worst way.

What happened to Drogyn confused me. He's back in the story, which immediately made me think about getting Fred back, plus it seems that Illyria may even be ready to return to the Well. Did Angel really kill Drogyn to get into the Circle of the Black Thorn? Except, didn't someone say at one point that Drogyn had the gift of eternal life?

This week's good continuity star goes to Cordelia's visions. I had wondered at the time ("You're Welcome") if she had passed them on to Angel the way Doyle passed them on to her, and sure enough, she did. He's just been keeping quiet about it. Made me want to watch the entire season again before writing this review. (Not now, though. Certainly later.)

Spike told Illyria that she was haunting the place. It's a lot like what happened to Spike in the beginning of the season: depressed, trapped and helpless, wandering about, unable to change her own situation. We don't know what happened to Illyria; what did Marcus Hamilton's foot do to her? And did Marcus Hamilton see what the glammer wanted him to see, or did he see what was really happening? Guess I'll have to tune in next week to find out.

Bits and pieces:

— Angel actually had a somewhat normal girlfriend (well, normal for him). And she's gone already. Probably for the best. He doesn't do well with those office romances.

— Harmony didn't do much, but she had a wonderful line, the one about "We do have a fruity, unassuming vole."

— We got a few moments of Lindsey, in chains. Not much, but maybe he'll be a player in the season finale.

— Drogyn and Illyria playing Crash Bandicoot was just fun. Illyria said what I think we all feel when we get caught playing a stupid game: "I play this game. It's pointless and annoys me, yet I'm compelled to play on."

— Smart of Angel to send Wesley a message through the template, so that when the time came, they'd all be on the same page, so to speak. That template just makes the librarian in me drool. No searching, no call numbers, no paging... it's marvelous.

— I know Dr. Sparrow has been mentioned before, but I'm not sure where. Was he the doctor that Wolfram & Hart sent to dissect Darla and baby Connor?

— The candidate "Mike Conley" resembles John Kerry just a bit. Intentional, do you think?

— I thought Angel wearing all black to play racquetball was pretty funny.

— I wonder if the content of this particular episode changed when the word came that the series was cancelled? I bet it did.


Quotes:

Lorne: (describing the Circle of the Black Thorn) "Sounds like a little sewing club for pirates."

Illyria: "A corrupted ruler on such a path sees treachery and betrayal all around him. He cannot suffer intimates and will eventually turn against them."
Spike: "Guess I don't have to worry about that, 'cause Angel and me have never been intimate. Except that once."
How delightful. Slash writers all over the globe dash to their keyboards.

Drogyn: "I came to find you."
Spike: "Oh, so you tacked up a sign on your tree, waved bye to the Keeblers, hopped the puddle and somehow managed to sniff me out in a city of ten million?"

Spike: "You may not think you are as powerful as you were, highness, but looking like Fred, for some of us, is the most devastating power you have."

Vail: "Your son kills quite well."
Angel: (flattered) "Thanks."

Three out of four stakes. One more to go,

Billie
---
Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.

1 comment:

  1. Lorne: (describing the Circle of the Black Thorn) "Sounds like a little sewing club for pirates."
    lol

    Angel in the glamour saying "Lindsey's a pathetic halfwit but he's right about one thing" made me laugh too. Loved one last shot from petty Angel before shit goes down and he puts his war face on.

    There's also (again in the glamour after he makes it clear his evident soul-selling was all a ploy)
    Angel: "The Senior Partners will always exist in one form or another because mankind is weak."
    Lorne: "Uh, do you want me to point my crossbow at him? Cuz I think he's gonna start talking about ants again."

    For a non-comedic moment I liked, there's Illyria taking note of Wesley snubbing her when Spike engaged him.

    Concerning Lindsey during my first watch, I remember getting excited again after being let down by his antagonistic return, because I really loved the idea of him being part of the end-game as an ally. Dreamed of it, actually. Kinda embarrassing to see with this episode that I willfully ignored the scene where they make it clear his attack earlier had nothing really to do with judgment or losing faith in Angel but just what he was willing to do to join the Circle. The little heart breaker...

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